in Environment

As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding

In April 2023, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high water.

Khôi Phạm

in Environment

What I Talk About When I Talk About Vietnam's Penguin Trashcans

Compared to the average Vietnamese, I might be thinking about trashcans a smidgen too much — not just any trashcan, but the infamous penguin-shaped trashcans that are ubiquitous at every corner of our public spaces.

Linh Phạm

in Parks & Rec

House Dance Hanoi Teaches You How to Free the Body

I stood on the top floor of a building on Khâm Thiên Street, feeling grateful for the cold air. I came out here to take a break from the other side of the floor, which was divided into three rooms — three dance studios.

in Environment

Inside Saigon's Grassroots Carton and Aluminum Recycling Plants

With plastics claiming many of the headlines worldwide and constituting a major issue in Vietnam, scant attention is being paid to other recyclable materials, namely cardboard and aluminum.

in Ẽplain

How Táo Xanh Forum Created a Safe Space for Gay Vietnamese Before Social Media

Before Vietnamese could hop on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share our hot takes of the week, there was an era of past cybersphere when online forums were the crucial online space to connect local netizens.

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

As Climate Change Threatens, Flood Waters Usher In Sustainable Opportunities for Communities in the Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is developing faster than Google Maps can keep up with. A stretch of road that was too narrow to accommodate cars and required a transition to motorbikes just six months ago was under construction during our August visit. Gargantuan machines for laying pulverized gravel inched aside to let our 7-seater pass so we could reach the home of Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy to check in on her small fish drying home business.

Khôi Phạm

in Natural Selection

10 Species of Lesser-Known Fruits to Get to Know Vietnam's Biodiversity

In the Vietnamese language, the word “cỏ” — meaning “grass” in the literal sense — is often used to signify that something is locally grown, no frills, and charmingly rustic; grassroots, if you will. Chó cỏ is the general term for the adorable mutts, usually mixes between Vietnam’s native dog species, born without the prestige of named breeds, while gym cỏ and net cỏ denote the casual gyms and internet cafes in one’s neighborhood. In the same vein of logic, may I put forth a new name for a special genre of Vietnamese fruits: trái cỏ?

in Architecture

How Vietnamese Architecture Adopted Modernism and Made It Our Own

Ask a person on the street what Vietnam’s distinctive style of architecture is, and the answer you get might be traditional architecture, like the historic curves of northern Vietnam’s village temples or the ornate regality of Nguyễn-Dynasty palaces. This time-honored style is widely accepted as the hallmark of Vietnam’s cultural wealth. What’s more fascinating but lesser-known is how this cultural vestige — which distinguished our architecture from that of China and Japan — has also managed to evolve in the new age, finding ways to exist right in the middle of our modern lifetime.

Back Society

in Health

3 Covid-19 Patients in Da Nang Discharged; Dozens More Test Negative

There are 136 Covid-19 patients currently being treated in medical facilities in Vietnam.

in Health

Citizens, Especially Those Over 60, Should Stay Home, Health Ministry Warns

As Covid-19 cases in Vietnam continue to climb over 100, the health ministry has warned people from going out.

Michael Tatarski

in Architecture

From Nature, Vietnam Slowly Forges Its Own Brand of Contemporary Architecture

When it comes to architecture in Saigon, a tiny fraction of buildings receive the vast majority of attention.

in Environment

Mekong Delta Slammed by Worst Drought, Saltwater Intrusion in Decades

While the Covid-19 pandemic has understandably dominated the news recently, a disaster is unfolding in the Mekong Delta.

in Health

Coronavirus Update: 121 Confirmed Cases, Including 3 Medical Staff; 3 More Recoveries

Over the weekend, Vietnam's Covid-19 case total surged past 100, while foreigners were banned from entering the country.

in Environment

Thua Thien-Hue Plans to Build 157-Hectare Bird Sanctuary

The 157-hectare bird sanctuary 15 kilometers outside of Hue aims to attract wild birds back to their natural habitat. 

in Health

Coronavirus Update: 76 Cases in Total, More Flight Routes Halted

In just four days, the number of Covid-19 cases in Vietnam has increased by 19 — from 57 cases on March 16 to 76 cases on March 18.

in Health

Coronavirus Update: 57 Cases, Compulsory Masks and Saigon's Nightlife Closures

Despite tightening restrictions on movement and air travel, Vietnam’s number of Covid-19 cases jumped from 39 last Thursday to 57 by the end of Sunday.

in Environment

Vietnam Climate Change Project to Improve Water Security Secures $30.2m Funding

The project deals with improving the resilience of small-scale agricultural production to water security loss due to climate change in the Central Highlands and south-central coast regions of Vietnam....

in Sports

Nguyen Van Duong Is Vietnam's First Boxer to Qualify for the Olympics in 32 Years

With an impressive performance at the qualifiers in Jordan, Nguyen Van Duong has become the first Vietnamese boxer to qualify for the Olympics in 32 years. 

in Health

Coronavirus Update: Vietnam’s Cases Rise to 39; Patients' Health Improves

Nine new coronavirus cases in Vietnam have been confirmed within the last three days.

in Architecture

[Photos] A Bright, Airy House in Saigon That Bridges the Generational Gap

"In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future."

in Environment

Vietnam to Clampdown on Illegal Wildlife Trade Amid Virus Fears

With the scientist community in general agreement that 2019’s novel coronavirus emerged out of a wet market in Wuhan where live animals were slaughtered, governments in both China and Vietnam are taki...

in Tech

Mobile Sensation 'Adorable Home' Adds Vietnamese as Language Option

Considering how much attention the game has received from Vietnamese players, this update seems inevitable.

in Health

Vietnam Unveils Health Declaration App, Website to Aid Coronavirus Containment

As the Covid-19 outbreak rages globally and Vietnam confronts a spate of new cases, a new app and website have been rolled out to aid the monitoring of people's health in the country.

in Health

Coronavirus Update: 30 Cases in Total; 13 New Cases Linked to London–Hanoi Flight

It was a grim weekend for Vietnam as, after three weeks with no new Covid-19 cases and 100% recovery rate, the number of patients who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus ballooned to 30.

in Development

Opera House Metro Station Expected to Open for Public Visits by April 30

Work on the Opera House station of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien line has gone into overdrive.

in Environment

How Vietnam Is Trying to Save Its Beloved Giant Yangtze Softshell Turtles

Eighty-eight-year-old Le Huy Hoanh stands up from his bench and carefully poured tea in rural Vietnam, and mimes for us how he used to kill gods.

in Tech

Samsung Is Building Its Largest Southeast Asia R&D Center in Hanoi

The electronics giant said that the building will be the biggest such facility in Southeast Asia.

in Environment

Vietnam Considers Scaling Back Plans to Build New Coal Power Plants

The move comes as thermal power plants are increasingly difficult to finance, while their detrimental environmental impacts are impossible to ignore.